The University has partnered with virtual British Sign Language (BSL) Interpreting Service SignLive, to become the only University in England to help British Sign Language users communicate with the staff and students at the university more effectively.
The new system will connect users to the University via a registered interpreter who then relays the conversation via a video call, ensuring that everyone has a means to communicate and understand information in a format which works for them.
Commenting on the innovative service Kasia Senyszyn, Accessible Information Manager at Kent says: ‘We are extremely proud and excited to launch this new service. Being the only UK University to launch such a service demonstrates how important increasing accessibility at Kent is. While there is more to be done, this part of our wider accessibility strategy at Kent is a further step in the right direction to ensuring Kent is accessible to everyone.’
The system is simple to use via the SignLive App (available on iOS or Android) or through a web browser by finding ‘University of Kent’ in the Community Directory. Once users have registered all calls through the Community Directory are free of charge.
We are also registered with SignLive’s remote interpretation service, which means we can access an interpreter for any BSL users who may wish to communicate with staff on campus. Staff can contact the Accessible Information team to get access to this service.